“ Hector asked Agnès if she was happy. ‘I knew you’d ask me that and so I thought about it...

“
Hector asked Agnès if she was happy.

‘I knew you’d ask me that and so I thought about it last night. I think I’m happy. I have a job I love, a husband I love, and children who are happy. In fact, all I want is for things to stay as they are. The only shadow on my happiness is when I tell myself sometimes that as it’s all going well, it can’t last, that one day things won’t be so good.’

‘You say: “I think I’m happy.” What allows you to say that? Is it comparing yourself to others?’

‘Not entirely. You can’t really know how other people experience happiness or misfortune. In fact, I’m comparing myself to myself! I think of other times in my life, and it feels like I’ve never been so happy.’

Hector found the idea of comparing yourself to yourself interesting. Comparisons can spoil your happiness (lesson no. 1), but they can also help you to tell yourself that you’re happy.
”

#FrancoisLelord
#HectorAndTheSearchForHappiness
#BookWorm #SerialReader #AChapterADay

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“ Sazed: You just need to have hope, Mistress. Perhaps you’ve earned a little bit of good...

“
Sazed: You just need to have hope, Mistress. Perhaps you’ve earned a little bit of good fortune. There were a group of people before the Ascension known as the Astalsi. They claimed that each person was born with a certain finite amount of ill luck. And so, when an unfortunate event happened, they thought themselves blessed—thereafter, their lives could only get better.

Vin: Sounds a bit simpleminded to me.

Sazed: I do not believe so. Why, the Astalsi were rather advanced—they mixed religion with science quite profoundly. They thought that different colors were indications of different kinds of fortune, and were quite detailed in their descriptions of light and color. They had a scale of colors, and used it to describe the sky of the deepest blue and various plants in their shades of green. Regardless, I find their philosophies regarding luck and fortune enlightened. To them, a poor life was only a sign of fortune to come. It might be a good fit for you, Mistress; you could benefit from the knowledge that your luck cannot always be bad.

Vin: I don’t know. I mean, if your bad luck were limited, wouldn’t your good luck be limited too? Every time something good happened, I’d be worried about using it all up.

Sazed: I suppose that depends on your viewpoint, Mistress.

Vin: How can you be so optimistic? You and Kelsier both.

Sazed: I don’t know, Mistress. Perhaps our lives have been easier than yours. Or, perhaps we are simply more foolish.
”

#BrandonSanderson
#Mistborn Book 1 #TheFinalEmpire
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“ Sazed: The Valla lasted longer into the Lord Ruler’s dominion than any other...

“
Sazed: The Valla lasted longer into the Lord Ruler’s dominion than any other religion.

Kelsier: That’s why I ask. I…need to understand what kept them going for so long, Saze. What made them keep fighting?

Sazed: They were the most determined, I think.

Kelsier: But they didn’t have any leaders. The Lord Ruler had slaughtered the entire Vallan religious council as part of his first conquest.

Sazed: Oh, they had leaders, Master Kelsier. Dead ones, true, but leaders nonetheless.

Kelsier: Some men would say that their devotion didn’t make sense. The loss of the Vallan leaders should have broken the people, not made them more determined to keep going.

Sazed: Men are more resilient than that, I think. Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. That is the nature of hope.
”

#BrandonSanderson
#Mistborn Book 1 #TheFinalEmpire
#BookWorm

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“ Other men worry whether or not they will be remembered. I have no such fears; even...

“
Other men worry whether or not they will be remembered. I have no such fears; even disregarding the prophecies, I have brought such chaos, conflict, and hope to this world that there is little chance that I will be forgotten.

I worry about what they will say of me. Historians can make what they wish of the past. In a thousand years’ time, will I be remembered as the man who protected mankind from a powerful evil? Or, will I be remembered as a tyrant who arrogantly tried to make himself a legend
”

#BrandonSanderson
#Mistborn Book 1 #TheFinalEmpire
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“ Take a look at a castle. Any castle. Now break down the key elements that make it a castle....

“
Take a look at a castle. Any castle. Now break down the key elements that make it a castle. They haven’t changed in a thousand years.

1: Location. A site on high ground that commands the territory as far as the eye can see.

2: Protection. Big walls, walls strong enough to withstand a frontal attack.

3: A garrison. Men who are trained and willing to kill.

4: A flag. You tell your men you are soldiers and that’s your flag. You tell them nobody takes our flag. And you raise that flag so it flies high where everyone can see it.

Now you’ve got yourself a castle. The only difference between this castle and all the rest is that they were built to keep people out. This castle is built to keep people in.
”

makes me want to watch “taps” and “the shawshank redemption” now… 😂 hahaha!

#TheLastCastle (2001) #MovieBuff #BingeWatching

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“ The funny thing was that there weren’t many people on this magnificent beach. There were...

“
The funny thing was that there weren’t many people on this magnificent beach. There were mostly poor people with rather a lot of children, or black people who were generally quite young. Hector understood that in this country rich people were either too busy to go to the beach because they worked a lot or they preferred the nice clean water in their swimming pools or Jacuzzis, or they weren’t too keen on mixing with poor people, but this of course was true in all countries.

So, the poor people had this huge beach all to themselves, free of charge, and they had fun playing volleyball, drinking beer, picking up girls, and they seemed quite happy, because here on the beach they could forget about the people who were richer than them, who had nice cars, nice houses and expensive lawyers.

Hector put on his sunglasses and wrote:

Lesson no. 19: The sun and the sea make everybody happy.

And he told himself that if one day he became really poor, he would seek refuge in a sunny city by the sea and in a poor country so that he would feel less poor. (Remember lesson no. 1: Making comparisons can spoil your happiness.)
”

#FrancoisLelord
#HectorAndTheSearchForHappiness
#BookWorm #SerialReader #AChapterADay

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“ Vin: What is it, Elend Venture? Why are you so intent on avoiding your duty? Elend: Duty?...

“
Vin: What is it, Elend Venture? Why are you so intent on avoiding your duty?

Elend: Duty? This isn’t duty. This ball…this is fluff and distraction. A waste of time.

Vin: And women? Are they a waste too?

Elend: Women? Women are like…thunderstorms. They’re beautiful to look at, and sometimes they’re nice to listen to—but most of the time they’re just plain inconvenient.

Vin: You say these things just to provoke me!

Elend: I’m charming that way. Ah, don’t let them trick you into taking yourself too seriously. It’s not worth the effort.
”

#BrandonSanderson
#Mistborn Book 1 #TheFinalEmpire
#BookWorm

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